Opportunities

Current opportunities to serve with JHF in China:

If you have these skills and appropriate experience, a job may already be waiting for you!

JHF associates serve in many capacities across China. Here are some current long-term opportunities, brought to our attention by Associates and partners. Unless you are teaching English, some level of spoken Chinese will probably be needed. Also be sure to read “Qualifications for Professional Positions” at the end of this post.

Write to us for more information about these positions, about how to join JHF, or for information about opportunities to serve for less than six months.

Education

Opportunities vary based on many factors (kindergarten to post-graduate; English and non-English departments; urban and rural settings…). The following information is provided to whet your appetite, so you’ll ask for more information! See “qualifications for educators” below. Teaching salaries in China are often low, especially in the underserved areas where JHF Associates tend to work. Therefore, your goal should be to serve and make a difference, not to “live comfortably.”

More and more private and public institutions are recruiting foreign teachers to teach science and other-than-English language courses (Japanese, French, Spanish…). JHF teachers have taught Biochemistry, Architecture, Physical Therapy, Translation Methodology, MBA classes, and more. We also have an Associate working as a research fellow in a science academy in southern China.

Want to STUDY IN CHINA? We can connect you to great language schools for serious learners who want to move their career to China. With some research, you can sometimes find scholarships for advanced studies in China; we currently have an Associate working on a PhD (in Chinese) in the northwest, as well as several people studying Mandarin. Concerning opportunities to STUDY MANDARIN (or minority languages, or to study other subjects using Mandarin), click here or write to us.

University-level English Instructors and Professors
JHF has a good relationship with universities around China (including Xi’an, Xiamen, Kunming, Wuhan, & Qinghai; many teaching opportunities also exist in Gansu, both in Lanzhou and in the countryside). These schools are frequently looking for foreign professionals to teach English and other subjects (in English and/or Chinese). The school year runs from late August to June. Professors needs a PhD; instructors should have at least a Master’s Degree. Write to us for details.

Beijing – International Teacher wanted
The prestigious Peking University Institute for Medical Humanities/School of Foundational Education, Department of Applied Linguistics, has asked JHF to help supply full-time teachers (10 teaching hours + 2 office hours/wk) for their national program of Biomedical English teaching and research. Master’s or PhD degree required, plus at least two years’ teaching experience and a commitment to quality teaching and research. Teachers are expected to make a significant contribution to the teaching of English to both Biomedical English majors and medical students at all levels, through existing courses and the development of new courses. Write to JHF for more information.

Taiyuan – Elementary School Teacher Urgently Needed
A certified elementary/primary school teacher is urgently needed to teach in a small international school that serves eight families from several different organizations. Fifteen students range from first to eighth grade, plus there is a small group of high school students doing on-line study. Teacher will teach all subjects, across several grades, but an experienced head teacher provides support and curriculum. While some financial assistance is available, this is more-or-less a volunteer position–but you would be a great partner to the foreign parents who are serving in the area (also mostly as volunteers). For details or to apply, please contact (ASAP!): Heather at JHF (or use the contact form on the “contact us”page). Starting date is fall 2016.

Chengdu – English Teacher Wanted
A foreign-owned company needs a native English teacher. The company is located in a good compound and has a pleasant teaching environment. JHF can also put you in touch with other teaching opportunities in Chengdu or in the nearby countryside.

Hezuo, Gansu Province – English Teacher Wanted
A Teachers’ College is looking for an English Teacher with Teachers Education & TESOL qualifications; minimum 2 years’ working experience (preferably in China).

Teachers Wanted – pre-college and continuing education
JHF can connect qualified educators with a chain of schools in Shanghai, Beijing, Yantai, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, which offer formal, institutionalized international education schools of Higher Education, Matriculation, Secondary, Primary and Early Childhood, available to both internationals and Chinese citizens. The Yew Wah International Education Foundation offers competitive salaries and expanding opportunities to serve in China.

Teachers Wanted – International Schools
Goodland Consulting International, a recruitment agency, helps to place qualified FULL TIME English teachers in its clients’ international language schools located in Beijing, Tianjin & WuXi or other regions in China. Requirements: Bachelor degree with TESOL/TEFL/CELTA certified and min. 2 years’ experience in teaching ESL for adults.

Nanjing – English Teachers Wanted

Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology is looking for native English teachers with Bachelor’s Degree or above and at least two-year relevant experience. The posts are undergraduate students oriented; to teach English speaking, writing, culture and literature, etc. Remuneration includes housing provided. Write to JHF for more information.

Wuhan – Medical Staff and Medical Administrators needed
Healthy Foundations is looking for medical doctors, nurses, business people, early childhood educators, and more, to join their expanding work in Wuhan. Among their many services, HF provides direct medical care for international patients, runs an accredited international school, and serves local care-givers as trainers and consultants. Their purpose is similar to JHF’s, desiring to “transform workplaces & touch lives.” http://www.healthyservice.com/

Geriatric Services
As China faces an aging population, more and more resources are going toward improving care for the elderly. Experts who can help institutions learn to increase quality of life as well as length of days are particularly needed. When one considers the vast influence that China’s elder generation has on society, it is easy to see the importance of this growing area of social service. For information on JHF partners who work in this area, contact us.

Business

Expat-run businesses that provide jobs and/or training for locals continue to be welcomed. Investment capital is needed, as well as “business sense”! Starting and running a business in China is not easy, but your association with JHF links you to those who are doing it successfully.

Current or former JHF Associates have owned and/or operated factories, coffee shops, hotels, consulting companies, training centers, counseling centers, coaching services, a specialized medical training company, a cheese factory, and other small businesses. We love to help Associates who combine business with social services, such as our bakery dedicated to training deaf workers, and companies who hire handicapped or otherwise disadvantaged workers. If you feel called to put your business skills to work in China, why not “test your idea” by studying Chinese with JHF for a year or more? Write us for more information.

Baker neededLooking for an experienced baker for Bach’s Bakery, Changsha, willing to help train hearing-impaired young people. Both the city and the workplace experience extreme temperatures (if you can’t stand the heat, you don’t want to work in a kitchen!). Must speak English or German fluently (Chinese would be great, too, but is not compulsory at the beginning.)

Other Opportunities

These are only a few of the opportunities available to JHF Associates with a heart to serve in China. If you don’t know how your professional skills and experience might be put to use in China, please write to us. You might even want to consider a “vision trip” to see opportunities first hand. Contact us for more information.

Qualifications for Professional Positions

As China continues to develop, international standards for professionalism are more and more the norm. In other words, it’s no longer “good enough” to be a native-English-speaker to teach English, nor for a doctor to show up with a foreign diploma and hope to be employed by a hospital.

English teachers should normally have a Bachelors degree, a TESOL/TEFL qualification and two years relevant experience. Other teachers will normally have qualifications similar to what is required for comparable jobs in their home country. To teach in a higher-level university, master’s-level qualifications (or higher) may be required. Professors need a PhD and teaching experience. However, qualifications vary widely, depending on location, subject to be taught, target age of students, and other factors.

No matter what professional position you are applying for, you probably need proof that you have qualifications and experience in that field. For example, a retired teacher had been recruited to work as English-programs Coordinator and part-time Business Manager for a coffee shop, but he was refused a work visa because he lacked management experience. For medical professionals, the process of verifying qualifications and experience takes several months, and some hospitals say “this cannot be done from overseas.” The same may be true for other professions. In general, having at least a Master’s Degree can help you qualify for the desired status of 外国专家 (“foreign expert”) instead of the general category of 劳工就业 (“worker”).

For many professions, you will need several documents (sometimes translated into Chinese) that have been verified by a Chinese consulate abroad. These might include birth certificates, marriage license, diplomas, transcripts, criminal-background-check and professional certificates. The Chinese Embassy website for your country will probably have information about this sometimes-expensive process, which can take many months. Your Chinese employer should also be able to tell you about the documents you need–though smaller schools and companies are sometimes unaware of these requirements until they bring you to the visa office in their city (and by then, it may be too late to get what you need!).

Write to us with specific questions, and we will try to find specific answers; our desire is to help you find a place of service, where your skills can make a difference in China.